~*8 tips for Getting Lean for Summer*~

I subscribe to a lot of fitness/health related newsletters and email lists. One of my favorites is Jill Jacobs. Jill is the founder of this company, is certified in Metabolic Effect Nutrition principles (my favorite!) and she gives away amazing free content! She also has an online coaching club that I’m sure is wonderful. She has a facebook page also that gives great motivation and tips daily.

I got an email from her last week that was full of really good information. I emailed and asked her for permission to share it with each of you and she graciously agreed. These tips are GOOD and they are ones that I follow in my daily life (other than the sleep one- I don’t quite have that one mastered yet!)

I hope that it helps you be reminded of some important habits that will help you on your health journey and serves as motivation to keep going. Be sure to stop by her website and facebook page and get signed up for her mailing list. You’ll be inspired and motivated!

4. Drink your water!
I shoot for a gallon a day, but even making 2
liters your goal will help you with fat loss. Many times, the brain
confuses dehydration with hunger and will send the wrong signal to the
body. Drinking water will therefore decrease hunger. Water helps to
naturally detoxify your body, and it helps flush retained water from
your system. It’s good stuff!

5. Be proactive by planning ahead.
It’s a good idea to sit down each week and plan your menu.
This is a great tool to keep you on track. If you fail to plan, you plan
to fail! Along the same lines, prep food for the week so that you
always have a healthy choice ready. Making eating for fat loss the EASY
choice is KEY.

6. Sleep like it’s your job.
Sleeping 8 or more hours each night has been shown to reset your
hormones. This is great for fat loss as sleep lowers fat storing
hormones and
raises fat burning hormones. It helps you detox, it helps you recover
from your workouts and build muscle, it enhances your mood, it gives you
energy, and it slows the aging process. Are you convinced to try to get
in your 8 hours of sleep yet??

7. Find ways to de-stress.
Sleep is the #1 way to de-stress, but other ways are to relax by taking
leisure walks, doing restorative yoga, taking a bubble bath,
getting a pedicure, and reading. De-stressing lowers cortisol which aids
fat loss.

8. MOST IMPORTANT: Get your mind right!
Try not to think of fat loss as an all or nothing venture. There are
ebbs and flows with it like anything else, AND it takes practice. You
must be willing to stick with any plan longer than a few days or a
couple of weeks before deciding it doesn’t “work.” Create good habits,
be
consistent with them, and be patient. This is the formula for success.
With this mindset of controlling only what you can (which is your own
behavior and choices), you’re able to let go of the uncontrollable (the
outcome). Once you control your own choices and practice making good
ones, results will soon follow.